BEYOND THE HYPE: CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Educators in higher education must reinvent their learning environments so that digitalization augments and enhances instruction and learning. The widespread use of digital devices and applications makes this possible. We argue that educators must therefore develop their digital skills and adopt more innovative instructional strategies. Using available technological instruments for pedagogical purposes, instructional technology permits the development of engaging, effective learning experiences. However, the implementation of instructional technology in practice is difficult. It is complex, multifaceted and fraught with challenges, and consequently, educators struggle to realize the potential benefits. This exploratory study aims to uncover key challenges to implementing instructional technology faced by educators in order to better understand their needs and requirements. To do this, we conducted a comprehensive qualitative study involving 41 higher education educators via focus groups in Ireland, Turkey, Bulgaria and Portugal. Our analysis uncovers many challenges and we curate and discuss a prioritized list in this paper. The findings present pertinent challenges for educators and institutions across four countries and suggest how to overcome them. This study also offers insight into future research and development needed to expand instructional technologies to accommodate and address respondents' concerns.